The Guild: Tradition and Corruption
by Wood Dog
Summary: Act I of The Guild. As monsters grow weak and scarce, Mankind turns to itself as its new opponent and its greed becomes its downfall.


**A/N:** This chapter is a sneak preview of Tradition and Corruption which is the first of three major arcs in the story of The Guild. However, if you haven't read anything from me yet, please read my other fanfic, Stability and Stagnation, as it contains nearly 90k words of what is essentially the start of this story. This scene in particular is NOT the actual start of Act I, so do keep that in mind.

Just a little something from future chapters.

Do enjoy.

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**DISCLAIMER:** The following is a fan-made fiction based on the Monster Hunter series. I own only the story and characters, Monster Hunter itself is owned by Capcom.

If you enjoy the story so far, please feel free to review and leave your opinion. I will be sure to reply to any questions.

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_As monsters grow weak and scarce, Mankind turns to itself as its new opponent and its greed becomes its downfall._

_And so we begin anew..._

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**A Preview of**

**The Guild:**

**Tradition and Corruption**

Morning bells rang in Dondruma. Hunters had returned from the wilds, greeting the people waiting for them, shouts blending with the ringing of the bells on the long balcony where Max stood. The balcony overlooked Dondruma's Sandstone Ramparts, filled with merchants and returning Hunters, but he did not give them a second look. Despite the feeble sun high in the sky, winter in Dondruma was still warmer than he was used to, sweat glistening on his bare chest and shoulders as he swung his iron Hammer, each move powerful yet far from being as precise as he aimed it.

"Good, Whitevest." Leaning against the stone railings with his arms folded across his chest, his Blackgarb mentor watched him critically. "You are doing well, but don't push too hard. You can't become a Hammer master in a few weeks."

His concentration vanished like a burst bubble. "I don't care about being a Hammer master."

"That's a Hammer you're wielding, Whitevest."

"I just want to be prepared." Max's hand tightened on the rough leather of the handle. _I just want revenge._ He slammed the Hammer's head on the ground. "Anyway, I don't have a few weeks."

"Then you haven't changed your mind?"

"Would you?" Jon Salt's expression did not alter. The flat expression on the man's face looked as if it couldn't change. "You won't try to stop me? Or Celine?"

"You can do as you will, Max. But I can't promise Celine will make it easy." The Blackgarb Hunter straightened. "I'll leave you now."

Max turned to watch Jon go and found Lucia standing there.

"Changed your mind about what, Max?"

He snatched up his shirt and coat, suddenly feeling the cool. "I'm off hunting, Lucia."

"Hunting what?"

"Something. I don't know." He did not want to meet her eyes, but he could not stop looking at her. She wore Kirin shaped earrings which hung just above her shoulders. She held her cloak close, dark blue and embroidered along the edge with white flowers in Dondruma fashion, her steely Gunner armor hidden underneath, covering her body up to her face. None of it looked colder than her eyes. "Anything."

"I know what you're trying to do, Max, and it is plain foolish." She crossed her arms under her chest, and her big, orange eyes fixed him sternly. He always wondered how she managed to always seem to be looking down at him although she was only as tall as his chest.

"Good." He said. Her earrings made him somewhat angry. _I want to go home and can't, and she can't wait to forget what happened._ "You go away and leave me alone, alright? You don't want to keep me company anymore. There are plenty of strong Hunters here for you to moon around now. Like Verus." He spat.

Spots of color bloomed lightly in her cheeks. "Do you think I would-"

He turned to walk away, and with a cry she threw herself at him, flinging her arms around his legs. They both tumbled to the stone floor, his Hammer, shirt and coat sent flying. He grunted when he hit the floor and again when she scrabbled up and sat down on his back as if he were a chair. "My mother," she said firmly, "always told me the best way to learn to deal with a man was to learn to ride a Popo. She said they have about equal brains most of the time. Sometimes the Popo is smarter."

He raised his head to look over his shoulder at her. "Get off me, Lucy. Get off! Lucia, I swear that if you don't get off…" He lowered his voice ominously. "… I'll do something to you. You know I will." He added a glare for good measure.

She sniffed. "I don't think you could hurt anybody even if you tried. Least of all me. I know you want revenge but you are not going to do anything to me or anybody else. I, on the other hand, have been taking lessons from Celine, so if you don't stop squirming, I might just break your arm. I can manage that much. You keep on going as you are and see if I can't."

"It's just a Quest, Lucy! I don't have to ask you for permission to do my job, do I?" He said sharply. She did not speak, and he went on more quietly. "In my place, would you have me wanted to stop you, or even questioned you? Told you to do _nothing_? Or do you just think you're the only one entitled to making your own decisions?"

For a moment he thought he had gone too far, her amber eyes sparkling with anger, but he refused to back down. "Well?"

"What is hunting alone if not suicide?" She asked him calmly. "And after you go, you'll die for sure. And the tough-guy act, randomly trying to hurt me? '_Like Verus'_? Please. You're afraid we will die too if you let us go with you. As long as you don't do what you shouldn't, then you don't have to worry about anybody else getting hurt. Do you really think he would have wanted you to have died in his stead? Or worse, for revenge?"

For a moment he stared at her. The longer she spent with Verus and Celine, the more she took on their manner, at least when she wanted to. They were so much alike at times, the Minegardian and her. It was disconcerting to see someone like Lucia growing even bolder. Finally he told her what he was planning to do and, more importantly, when.

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**Post-chapter Note: **Not much to say, I know. It's just that what's got me going for the past year or so of writing The Guild has always been stuff from what I now call the Acts I, II and III of the fanfic. And, for a long time, I haven't really felt too motivated to write because I knew I wasn't really writing what I wanted to write, I was just setting up the world and such (albeit in a fairly lazy way). This past week or two, however, I realized how close I was to finishing my nearly one year-old Prologue so I started brainstorming wherever I went and that is exactly what has lead me to write this scene here.

Thank you so much for readying thus far (if you're one of the few who've actually read Stability and Stagnation) and I hope you've enjoyed it!


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